Careers For The Academically Minded

A lot of people can’t wait to get out of academia when they first set foot into it. However, there are some to whom the practices of finding sources, compiling information, and coming to conclusions is almost a rush. If you find yourself dreading leaving the libraries and computer halls of academia, then here are some careers worth considering.

Research

If you love hitting the books, performing experiments, and collecting data to help come to a conclusion, then sticking to the world of research might be just the solution for you. A career in research can be wildly different depending on, for instance, the field of academia you are in. For instance, medical research can involve either working in clinical research with live patients or in medical research, testing the effects of medicines but not on live humans. Similarly, a marine biology PhD could see you researching with data from a lab or at sea studying natural habitats.

Teaching

For some people, academia means education, the feeling of learning and teaching and helping the brightest minds of tomorrow reach their potential. For those who are academically minded, then it is more likely you will want to look at working as a professor rather than in high school or below, as it can involve staying up-to-date with and contributing to research in the field that you teach. The Bradley University website shows some of the steps and qualifications necessary in most cases to become a professor. While it can be tough to break into the world of teaching in college, the tenure you can eventually earn offers a lot of job security.

Data science

Love academia and researching but not the particular field of the sciences you’ve chosen to study? You don’t have to stick with it. In fact, data analysis and data science are becoming increasingly common career moves for those who started with a science education. It puts your skills of gathering, organizing and analysing data and applies it, in most cases, to business questions and problems rather than inherently scientific one. Data analysis is becoming an increasingly important part of the modern business world, and demand is shooting for people with the skills necessary to fill those roles.

Librarians

Don’t assume that working as a librarian simply involves shushing people. In many places, especially academic libraries, they play an essential role in helping organize a wide range of materials, from books to papers to research materials and publications stored from throughout history. Librarians also help researchers, students, and professors find the materials they need for their work, so they play an instrumental role in modern academia. Look to the Library Association website to see what it takes to become a librarian.

Those with an academic mindset have more options than you might initially think. Hopefully, the above examples give you some ideas of where you could take that keen mind and love for research and to make a real career out of it.